Apparatus for positioning and annealing work pieces



June 16, 1959 E. E. BARKSTROM ET AL ,8 0, 7

APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING AND ANNEALING WORK PIECES Filed Sept. 24, 1956 2 SheetsSheet 1 fiTTOE/VEY June 16, 1959 E. E. BARKSTROM ET AL 2,8 75

APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING AND ANNEALING WORK PIECES Filed Sept. 24, 1956 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a? '4 a2 1 as AMA/9E8! WTTOP/YEY United States Patent APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING AND ANNEALING worn PIECES Elmer E. Barkstrom, Chicago, and Henry Larsen,

Ila Grange Park, Ill., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., all corporation of New York Application September 24, 1956, Serial No. 611,426

8 Claims. (Cl.i26,3-.-6)

parts.

In the manufacture of wire combsforwire spring relays, it is frequently necessary to .rna'ke one r more brands in the projecting portions ofthe wires ofwhich'the ,corn bs are made. Toform the terminal portions of the wires, a particularly sharp bend mustbe ,rnade. ,II OM that these sharpbendsfcan belmade without danger .of

cracking or fracture or the wires, it is necessary thatthe wire .tips be annealed prior to the forming operations.

Prior to this invention it was necessaryto annealparts of this .type by manual operation. The wire combs were inserted into reciprocable slides andmoved by hand until the protruding wire tips were brought intojfiontact withrthe annealing flame. When the wires had been properly annealed, the slide was retracted and the wire comb removed. Manifestly, this time-consuming operation ,is completely impractical as one stage of a ,complete manufacturing process in which the otheroperat'ions are quickly and accurately accomplished by ineansfof automatic machines. j

It raa.P incipal'obiect otthis inve ti n t provide a novel apparatus for automatically and tapidly heat treating work pieces.

It is another object of this invention to provide an annealing apparatus which is capable of operating in synchronization with an automatic conveying mechanism which is carrying parts to he annealedpast the annealing apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus which will quickly and precisely locate a work piece on a transfer mechanism 'whereaftera uniform annealing operation is performed on a predeterm ned por- ,1

tion of each work piece.

With these and other objects in view the present invention contemplates an annealing apparatus that operates in conjunction with a work piecefeed mechanism to suecessively anneal workpieces. Upon presentment oteach work piece tothe annealing apparatus, a drive mechanism moves a series of burnersinto positionto effectuate the annealing operation. Simultaneous with the movement of the burners, .a further l nkage i a oma a y operated to. move a series of work posi i n ns bsi 'fi accurately position the work piece with respect to the burners. These positioning members also function to hold the work pieces during the time that theannealing operation is performed. Thereafter, the feed mechanism is operated and the burners and work positioning means are Withdrawn from the annealed work piece.

2,890,875 Patented June 16, 1959 Other objects and advantages, and the novel features of the invention, will become apparent upon consideration of the following description in conjunction "with the no eompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. '1 is an elevation view, partially in section, illustrating an annealing apparatus embodying the principal features of the invention wherein a burner unit is shown both in its annealing position .(solid lines) and in its rest position (phantom lines);

Fig. 2 is :a .plan view of the apparatus illustrating the apparatus shown in Fig. l and the relative positions of a series of wire combs prior to, during, and subsequent to an annealing operation;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary .end view of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation view of the apparatus illustrating a second embodiment of the comb positioning device; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end view of Fig. 3.

Attention now is directed to the drawings, and in particular Figs. 1 and 2, wherein a base 11 has a U-shaped hinge block 12 secured thereto by means of screws 14. A support arm 15 is pivotally mounted between the par- Ealiel ends of the hinge block 12 by means of comically- Iipped screws 16 having lock nuts 17. The support arm 15 is provided with a set screw 19 (Fig. .1) and a lock nut #20. which are adapted to limit the clockwise rotation of the support arm 15, as viewed in Fig. l, by abutting en- "gagement .with a support bracket 21 which is welded to theixhinge block 12. A right-angled support platform 22 30.

is adjnstably secured to the support arm 15, by meansof clamping l'serews .(not shown) positioned in slotted aper- --Itnresin the vertical portion of the ,righteangled support iplattorm. The support arm 15 and support platform 22 are keyed together for relative vertical movement by means of a key 24 (Fig. l) positioned in keyways in the support arm and support platform. The key keyways,

and clamping screws (not shown) permit vertical adjustment of the support platform .22 relative to the support arm andthe base.

A burner assembly, designated generally by the numeral 25, is adjustably secured to the support Platform 22 by .means of screws 26 positioned in slotted apertures 27 .(Fig. 2) in a burner assembly base 29. This arrange- .ment permits horizontal adjustment of the burner assembly 25 relative to the horizontal portion of the support and securedthereto is a rubber hose 32 provided with a valve 34 for regulating thepfiow of gas therethrough. The

platform 22 is provided with a slot 35 and the base 11 :andrinterposed between the end of the hose fitting and the burner assembly base 29.

with .an aperture 36 to permit passage of the hose there- 1 through.

The burner assembly 25 comprises a housing 38 having a hollow mixing chamber 37 which is integral with The upper section of thehousing 38 is provided withrecesses 40 within which .are disposed a plurality of individual burner units 39.

A baflle plate 41 is positioned within the mixing chamber inner ends of the burner units in order to create Jurbulence and consequent thorough'mixing of the air- 1 .gas mixture issuing from the rubber hose into the mixing chamber. with a pilot burner 42 supplied with gas .by means of The burner assembly is further provided :a. second rubber hose 44. The pilot burner 42 is held in place within an aperture in a supporting member .45, which is welded to the mixing chamber 37, by means of a clamping screw 46. aIn orderto oscillate the burner assembly 25 about the longitudinal of thehinge screws 15, the support in the slide are the disappearing pawls 85.

3 arm 15 is provided with a horizontally extending rocker arm 47. This arm lies at right angles to support arm 15 and together they constitute a bell-crank rotatable about the longitudinal axis of thehinge screws. Secured to the free extremity of the rocker arm 47 is .a pull rod 49 which is provided with a 'rotatably-mounted cam follower 50 on the lower extremity thereof. Cam

follower 50rolls in a groove 51 in a cam 52 and effects vertical reciprocatory motion of the pull rod 49. Cam

52 is fastened to a first extremity of a power shaft 54.

Driving means 55 are connected to the second extremity of the shaft 54. The driving means'is only illustrated diagrammatically and may be of any conventional type i which is capable of imparting oscillatory motion to the shaft 54. A helical compression spring 56 (Fig. 1) is interposed between the rocker arm 47 and the base 11 and resiliently urges clockwise rotation of rocker arm 47 and support arm 15, as viewed in Fig. 1.

Support bracket 21 is provided with a bifurcated portion 57 at its upper extremity. A work piece clamping and positioning arm 59 is pivotally mounted to these bifurcations by means of a pivot pin 60. The arm 59 is also provided with an angular extension 61 which is substantially parallel to the burner assembly 25. Work engaging pins 62 are positioned in apertures in the extension 61 and are urged downwardly (Fig. 1) into work engaging position by the lower ends of helical compression springs 64. The opposite ends of springs 64 are retained by the closed ends of spring retainer caps 65 which are threaded into the apertures in the extension 61. A cam follower rod 66, carrying a cam follower 67 on the lower extremity thereof, is pivotally secured Fig. 1, to the position indicated by dotted lines. While .Wire spring relay combs 87 comprising plastic blocks 88 and 89 and wires 90 are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 resting upon track members 81 and 82. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the first of the wires 90 of each of the combs lie in the horizontal path of the tangs 86 when in their upper positions.

- Operation cated by b (Fig. 2). During this portion of the conveyor cycle, "the cam 52. rotates in such a manner that the pull. rod 49 isdepressed and consequently the rocker arm 47 has been rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in the cam 52 is in this position, the rotatable burner assembly is in the rest position as indicated in phantom in Fig. 1. With the rotatable assembly in its rest position, the cam 69. occupies the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. '1, and the cam rod 66 is in its lower position i due to the entry of the cam follower 67 into an indentation 91 in the cam 69. With the cam rod in this position within the bifurcations 57 at the extremity of the work positioning arm 59. This cam rod is slidable within a vertical aperture insupport bracket 21. The cam follower 67 is in rolling contact with a cam 69 which is 'secured to support platform 22.

Thedriving means 55 is provided with a second shaft 76 which is rotatably supported by a pillow block 77 suspended from the base 11. Secured to the free extremity of the shaft 76 is a crank 79 which is the source of reciprocatory motion for the indexing transfer conveyor, designated generally by the numeral 80. This conveyor serves to convey the wire combsfrom work station to'work station of a multi-unit comb forming machine of which the present invention is one part or station. As the combs approach the annealing apparatus,

the individual wires have been cut to length and the tips 1 thereof have been flattened. It is these tips which the apparatus has been designed to anneal. Subsequent to the annealing operation, the flattened tips arev scratchbrushed, notched, and then provided with a sharpbend.

It is to prevent cracking during the' forming of this" sharp" bend that the flattened tips are annealed.

Any type of reciprocating conveyor which is capable of moving work pieces through successive stepsas indicated in Fig. 2 by the letters a, b, and 0 may be utilized I Y in combination with a licants annealin a aratus.

' pp g pp has a burner unit 39 directly beneath it and at a proper The simple transfer mechanism disclosed comprises a -pair of track members 81 and 82 with a reciprocable of the shaft 76. Pivotally mounted within a-channel These pawls are so mounted that the tangs 86 (Fig. 1) thereof project upward and will engage work pieces resting on the track members on the feed stroke. On the return stroke the" pawls pivot so that the tangs 86 are below the plane of the work pieces and hence the work pieces will remain in' the positions to which they are moved during'the feed stroke of the conveyor, as the slide returns. Another annealthe wire tips to the time required for the second half of the machine'cycle.

machine cycle, the later the rotatable assembly should be rotated into annealing position.

Qwork positioning'arm to rotate clockwise and bring the to' the comically-shaped tips of the pins 62, the wire combs 87 are shifted as necessary until the conical tips are centered in the apertures 92. Thus, these pins 62 alignment of the burner units 39relative to the flattened wire tips, this can'be corrected by utilizing one or more of the various adjustments hereinbefore mentioned. The ..annealing apparatus remains in this annealing position 5,, time the cam 52 is again moved by the drive means 55 I tornove'the burner assembly 25 to its rest position and track members as the crank is oscillating aboutthe axis the clamping arm 59 until the machine has again reached 6 "that point in the second half of its cycle where the burner :assembly 25 again rotates tothe annealing position.

. alternative embodiment of the work positioning arm is disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5. This arm is identical to the onedisclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 except for the actual fling, position, the cam follower 67 moves out of the tov the rotatable burner assembly 25. Simultaneously, the burner assembly 25 has rotated into annealing position beneath the'tips of the wires so that each wire tip the" work clamping and positioning arm 59 is rotated I'fcount'erclockwise' and out of engagement with the wire celeb: After 'the conveyor begins that portion of its 'c'ycle wherein the slide' 84 is moving to the right (Fig. 2),

" the" groove in cam 52 and starts on that portion of the "groove which has a uniformly increasing radius, thus permitting clockwise rotation of the rotatable assembly under the influence of the spring 56. The exact point at which the dwell in cam 52 terminates is determined by the ratio of the heating time necessary to properly The longer the overall As the rotatable assembly is moving into the annealdepression 91 and upon the tip of the cam 69. The resultant upward movement of the cam rod 66 causes the work engaging pins 62 into contact with the edges of the apertures 92 in the plastic block 88 of'the comb 87. Due

correct any misalignment of the wire combs 87 relative distance therefrom. In the event that there is any misuntil the next cycle of the machine is initiated. At this consequently etfects the release of the wire comb 87 by positioning means'on the extremity thereof. This arm 71 j J j is provided with a positioning finger 72 and a positioning spring 74 having a comb engaging member 75 attached :t-hereto.

When the alternative type of positioning and clamping arm 71 (Figs. 4 and 5) is used, the sequence of events is identical. However, when the arm 71 rotates clockwise, the engaging member 75 abuts the plastic portion 88 of the wire comb 87 and shifts it longitudinally until the second plastic portion .89 abuts a shoulder 94 of the track member 82. Simultaneously, the positioning finger 72 enters the space between two groups .of wires (Fig. 5)

and shifts .the comb laterally, if -necessary, to properly align the wires of the comb 87 with the individual burner units 39 when these units reach the annealing position. When the machine re-cycles, the arm 71 pivots away from the work engaging position and the transfer mechanism advances the wire combs.

Among the manifold advantages afforded by the aforementioned annealing apparatus is its suitability for use in conjunction with automatic machines for mass producing formed parts wherein it is desirable to anneal .such parts as one step in the forming process, in addition to its utility in a process wherein the parts to be annealed :are manually fed.

It is to be understood that although the annealing apparatus described is utilized to anneal the wire tips of wire spring relay combs, its use is not limited thereto. It is manifest that numerous modifications of the herein- 'before described apparatus may be made to achieve a :similar apparatus which will still be within the spirit and .scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an annealing apparatus, a frame, an annealing :means movably mounted on the frame, transfer means movably mounted on said frame for advancing work pieces to said annealing means, means movably mounted on said frame for positioning a work piece on said transfer means relative to said annealing means, drive means for moving said annealing means into and out of position to anneal said work piece and for simultaneously moving said transfer means, and means operated by the movement of the annealing means into the annealing position for moving said work positioning means into engagement with said work piece.

2. An apparatus for annealing work pieces carried along an indexing transfer mechanism step-by-step comprising a base, a heat source pivotally mounted on said base, work positioning means pivotaly mounted on said base, drive means for cyclically indexing the transfer mechanism, means operated by the drive means during indexing of the transfer mechanism for pivoting the heat source between annealing and rest positions, and means carried by said pivoted heat source for actuating the work positioning means as the heat source is pivoting to its annealing position whereby said positioning means pivots into engagement with the work to position the work rela tive to the heat source.

3. An apparatus for annealing work pieces comprising a base, a heating element pivotally mounted on the base, work positioning means pivotally mounted on said base, an indexing transfer mechanism for advancing work pieces to said heating element, drive means for operating the transfer mechanism and for simultaneously oscillating the pivoted heating element from an annealing position to a rest position and back to the annealing position, and means secured to said pivoted heating element for engaging said work positioning means as the heating element is moving toward its annealing position to rotate the positioning means into contact with the work and thereby accurately position the work piece relative to the heating element.

4. An apparatus for annealing work pieces which comprises a base, means pivotally mounted on said base for providing heat, a work holder positioned adjacent said heat means, means pivotally mounted on said base for positioning a work piece on said workholder, drive means for oscillatingthe heat means between an annealing position adjacent the work holder and a rest position farther removedtherefrom, and means carried by'said heat means for actuating said work positioning means as the heat means is moving toward its annealing .position whereby the positioning means rotates into engagement with the work piece in the work holder and shifts said work piece into a predetermined position to be acted upon by the heat means.

'5. An apparatus for annealing work pieces comprising a base, a heating means pivotally secured .to said base and oscillata-ble th rol gh a limited :are, an indexing transfer mechanism adjacent said heating means for advancing work pieces past the heating assembly step-by-step, a work clamping and positioning arm pivotally mounted on said base and adjacent said transfer mechanism, drive means for reciprocating the indexing transfer mechanism and for effecting rotation of the heating means to its rest position as the transfer mechanism is indexing and to its annealing position when the transfer mechanism is on its return stroke, and means operated by the movement of the heating means into the annealing position for pivoting the work clamping and positioning arm into engagement with the work piece to shift and to align said work with the heating means.

6. An apparatus for annealing the tips of wire spring relay combs, which comprises a base, a bifurcated support bracket rigidly secured to said base, a work clamping and positioning arm pivotally mounted within the bifurcations of the support bracket, spring-biased positioning pins mounted on the outwardly projecting extremity of said clamping arm, a spring-biased cam follower rod pivotally secured to the inner extremity of said clamping arm and slidably positioned within an aperture in said support bracket, a work holder positioned adjacent the support bracket and intersecting the path of rotation of said positioning pins, a bell-crank pivotally secured to said base, a gas burner assembly adj-ustably mounted'on one extremity of said bell-crank, drive means acting on the other extremity of said bell-crank for rotating said bell-crank and burner assembly to a canted position, resilient means interposed between the base and the horizontal arm of said bell-crank for effecting rotation of said bell-crank and burner assembly from its rest position to an annealing position when said bell-crank is released from the influence of said drive means, and a cam carried by the bell-crank for actuating the cam follower rod as the burner assembly moves to the annealing position to rotate the clamping arm and positioning pins into engagement with a work piece on the work holder and thereby shift the work to align the work with the burner flames.

7. An apparatus for annealing the tips of the wires of wire spring relay combs which comprises a base, an overhanging support bracket rigidly secured to said base, said support bracket being provided with a bifurcated portion on the free extremity thereof, a work clamping 21TH]. pivotally secured within the bifurcations of the support bracket and having a plurality of spring-loaded work positioning pins on the outer extremity thereof, a springbiased cam follower rod pivotally secured to the inner end of said clamping arm and slidably mounted within an aperture in the overhanging portion of said support bracket, an indexing work transfer mechanism positioned adjacent the overhanging portion of the support bracket and intersecting the path of rotation of the work positioning pins, a bell-crank pivotally secured to said base, a heat source adjustably secured to one extremity of the bell-crank, drive means for reciprocating the transfer mechanism, means connecting the drive means to the other extremity of the bell-crank for rotating the bellcrank and heat source from the annealing position to the rest position simultaneous with the forward movement of the transfer mechanism, resilient means interposed be 'tween the base and the horizontal arm of the belLc'rank "for eflfecting'rotation of the bell-crank and heat source from therest position to the annealing position as the transfer mechanism 'is on the return stroke,jand a cam secured to the vertical arm of the bell-crank for actuating the cam follower rod and clamping arm into work engaging position as the heat source is rotating to the annealing position whereby the work is moved relative to the transfer mechanism and into alignment with the heat source. 7

8. An apparatus for annealing work pieces comprising a base, means pivotally mounted on said base for providing heat, an indexing transfer mechanism for advancthe transfenmeehanism and for oscillating said heating means between its rest and annealing positions, and a cam carried by said heating means for pivoting the clamping and positioning arm into engagement with a work piece as the heating means moves to its annealing position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Palucki Feb. 2, 1937 Holberson Oct. 2, 1951 

